G’day and welcome to this week’s edition of Overnight Success! Your weekly download on all the important things that happened in the Aussie startup ecosystem. 🇦🇺 🚀 

A very special welcome to the 56 new subscribers who joined us this week. It’s great to have you here!

🗞️ Fresh off the OS Press

You’ll be hooked from the first line of this killer piece from guest writer, Georgie Healy 🙌.

👀 Headlines 👀 

⚖️ Blackbird releases its latest gender funding data for FY24 - TL;DR - there’s room for improvement

• Blackbird Ventures released a blog this week, which was later picked up in an AFR article, outlining their performance in line with targets set as part of the Equity Clear industry initiative to improve the equality of funding distributed across founder genders.

• While the firm has made improvements in terms of increasing the number of women in their own investment team, they’ve revealed in this latest report that they have fallen short of their “internal goal of seeing 40% of companies at IC pitch with at least one woman founder, seeing only 33% in FY24.”

💰 Grant money often goes to underperforming businesses, according to the Institute of Public Accountants-Deakin University SME Research Centre

• The report found that of the 141,800 firms that received a total of $4.2 billion in grant funding, $1.3 billion went to “low-performing companies”. 

• The study suggests that the method of awarding grants significantly impacts outcomes; grants given based on eligibility rather than merit were associated with declines in business performance.

• For startups, this might mean relying on grants without competitive evaluation could hinder growth and innovation.

 ⚡️ Startup Retro ⚡️

HammerTech secures $105M for international expansion of construction safety platform

Founders: James Harris and Ben Leach

Melbourne-based construction safety platform HammerTech has secured a $105 million investment from Californian private equity firm Riverwood Capital to boost its US and European operations. This marks Riverwood's first Australian investment, who invested via their their $US1.8 billion fund for high-growth tech firms.

Founded in 2013, HammerTech's digital platform streamlines safety, compliance, and site operations. It gained its first major client with the Australian Grand Prix in 2015 and entered the US market in 2019 after a $10 million investment from Arrowroot Capital. Current customers include Kane, Icon, Mirvac, and Parkview. 

HammerTech has over 100 employees and 500 global customers. The company aims to leverage AI for enhanced safety data value and expand its presence in the US and Europe. 

The investment comes as large investors resume mega deals after an 18-month hiatus, with seven Australian startups raising over $100 million in the first half of the year. HammerTech's expansion continues with plans to further penetrate the US market and build on its European presence.

Due Diligence: AFR

ExoFlare lands $5.3M Seed round for biosecurity threat management platform

Founders: Adrian Turner and Chris Aitken

Sydney-based ExoFlare, a biosecurity threat recognition and management platform, has secured a $5.3M Seed round. The startup has been operating in stealth since 2022. This funding round was led by Salus Ventures and also included contributions from Woolworths’ venture capital fund W23, agrifood investor Cultiv8, and In-Q-Tel. 

The platform is used for tracking threats in the agriculture and food supply chain, modernising otherwise largely paper-based systems and processes. Co-founded by Adrian Turner and Chris Aitken, ExoFlare offers solutions for monitoring people movements and transport journeys, aiming to protect the $80 billion Australian agriculture sector and beyond. The platform uses predictive technology and genomics-based diagnostics to detect biosecurity threats and manage them more efficiently.

ExoFlare is already being used in the pork, sheep, cattle, goat, poultry and egg sectors. Most recently, the platform is being used to deal with the current outbreak of avian flu at poultry farms across New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily, Innovation Australia

Alvys secures $30.5M Series A from Titanium Ventures for an all-in-one transport management system

Founder: Nick Darman

Alvys, a US-based freight tech startup providing a Salesforce-like interface for logistics companies, has secured US$20.5 million ($30.4 million) in a Series A funding round led by Titanium Ventures, recently rebranded from Telstra Ventures.

Alvys plans to leverage the new funding to enhance its technology and expand its team. The round also saw contributions from new investor Picus Capital and existing investors RTP and Bonfire.  

Alvys is on a mission to address inefficiencies in the smaller freight market. The startup offers an affordable, AI-powered cloud platform that optimises freight routes with real-time information. 

Due Diligence: Capital Brief 

Tether snags ~$600K for building analytics and management platform 

Founder: Brandon Van Blerk

New Zealand-based building management startup Tether has raised NZ$655,000 (AUD$592k) to expand into Australia and Europe. The funding came from high-net-worth individuals across three continents, bypassing traditional venture capital.

Founded in 2017 by Brandon Van Blerk, Tether helps facilities managers to monitor building analytics, reduce carbon footprints, and cut costs. The startup previously raised NZ$844,050 via crowdfunding in 2023, bringing its total funding to $1.5 million (AUD$1.36m).

Tether's platform uses locally manufactured sensors for performance benchmarks, predictive maintenance, and energy optimisation. The sensors are self-powered and provide real-time data to a cloud-based analytics platform, helping clients like Westpac and Douglas Pharmaceuticals enhance building efficiency and meet ESG compliance standards. With its latest funding, Tether aims to capture new markets, supported by a partnership with RICOH Spaces.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily

Go Locum secures $350K Seed round to connect medical staff with temp roles in regional & remote areas

Founders: Dr Joshua Case and Phoebe Bardsley

Go Locum, a medical startup founded by Dr Joshua Case and Phoebe Bardsley in 2022, has secured $350,000 in Seed funding led by the Paspalis Innovation Investment Fund. The digital platform connects doctors with locum roles in regional and remote areas, leveraging AI to streamline recruitment by automating credentialing and matching professionals to roles. The platform significantly reduces administrative burdens and errors, ensuring a seamless experience for both doctors and hospitals.

Go Locum currently employs three people, with assistance from an AI named Matilda. Immediate expansion plans focus on New Zealand and Ireland. They also plan to launch a mobile app to enhance locum recruitment across Australia. Additionally, Go Locum is preparing an impact program focused on entrepreneurship for youth in remote communities. A shorter-term focus for the team is building out a community of doctors who understand and appreciate the lifestyle opportunities in remote areas. 

The company recently partnered with Rosata Recruitment to launch Go Ireland, facilitating a mutual gap year program between Australia and Ireland.

Due Diligence: Smart Company 

Want to learn more about why we’re reporting these figures? Read about the ‘Funding the Balance’ initiative here.

🤑 New Funds, Who’s This? 🤑 

📦️ EVP has banked $20 million for its fifth fund, which it expects will swell to $500 million in the next decade.

• The new opportunities fund is targeting a first close of $30-$50 million of capital to make growth-stage investments in Australian and New Zealand software businesses.

• EVP already has $300 million of funds under management in more than 40 B2B software businesses, including Deputy, Shippit and Pendula.

• The fund will allow EVP to take advantage of its rights to buy parcels of shares in its portfolio companies as they become available.

• The fund will target a gross internal rate of return of more than 25%.

👀 Vibe Check 👀 

A couple of certifiably spicy opinion pieces we spotted this week:

Australian startup employees will never see a liquid secondary market, by Jack Richardson

• Unlike the US, where a liquid market exists, allowing employees to sell shares freely, Australia's market remains tightly controlled by company boards. This control ensures that any equity sales are managed internally, protecting company valuations and existing investor interests. 

• Recent high-profile liquidity events, like Canva’s tender process, are company-directed rather than open market transactions.

• In this piece, Jack highlights that this approach restricts employees from freely selling their shares, centralising power with company boards and executives, and maintaining Australia's unique, conservative approach to employee share liquidity.

‘Declined to comment’: three words destroying millions in VC brand equity by Jessy Wu

• In this opinion article for the AFR, Jessy, a Partner at Afterwork Ventures, proposes that the ‘no comment’ strategy PR strategy by major Australian VC’s is too conservative and only perpetuates the often negative narrative painted by some journalists of the sector.

• 👀 We’ll be interviewing Jessy on The Startup Retro podcast next week and we’d love to hear what questions you’d like us to ask her on this topic. 👉️ Submit you questions here 👈️ 

🥳️ Wins 🥳

🌵 Willow, the plant monitoring system based in WA that helps indoor plant owners keep their precious plants alive, has secured a distribution partnership with Bunnings. (Startup News)

• The small sensors that are planted into plant pots and connect to a user’s phone and inform them when their plants are in need of water will be sold on the Bunnings Warehouse website.

🤑 Aussie Raisins 🤑 

👋 Wable, a social networking app and “wellness toolbox” for neurodivergent people, is raising $1.5 million to support its international expansion to New Zealand, the US, and the UK by September 2024.

• Founded by Holly Fowler, Wable offers features like in-app psychologists, a venue map for safe places, and a job board for inclusive workplaces.

📣 Notice Board 📣 

Flying Fox Female Founders Pre-Accelerator - applications close Monday! 

Sponsored by LaunchVic, this is a free 12-week program to start getting your idea into reality...so apply before the 22nd July if:

✅ You're an aspiring female or non-binary founder

✅ You are based in Victoria, Australia

✅ You've got a killer idea -- but either haven't launched your company or built your product yet, and…

✅ You’re hungry, ambitious and excited to dig in!

📥️ Mini job board!

• Normal, the sexual wellness brand is hiring for its marketing team! Check these out and let them know OS sent you!

  • DTC Marketing Lead

  • Social Media Marketing Manager

🧠 KaaS (Knowledge as a Service)

ASIC and Competitors - A Practical Guide for Aussie Founders, by Warwick Donaldson

• In this resource, Warwick walks through how to use ASIC to buy your competitors' cap table and the latest investment round information. This will provide you with advanced knowledge of which VCs might already have vested interests and give you greater insight into your company’s valuation and capital-raising potential.

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‘Til next time,

👋 Will & Gem